


Looking For You Everywhere

by houdini74



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Reference to abusive relationship, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Fluff, Verbal Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-04 20:15:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18819922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/houdini74/pseuds/houdini74
Summary: The rom-com AU that David would definitely make Patrick watch. Or David and Patrick meet for the first time in a bar and then on a train and then in a park before being separated by circumstances.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a rom-com mash-up that owes a bit to Before Sunrise, a bit to Serendipity, and bit to every other romantic comedy where the characters don’t quite meet each other at the right time.

**David**

He didn’t really notice as the last notes of the piano died away. Judging by the tepid applause, the rest of the audience wasn’t paying much attention either. He watched as the piano player came down from the stage and headed towards the back corner of the bar where he was sitting, hoping this out of the way spot would allow him to avoid human contact.

The musician moved with a quiet confidence, making his way through the scattered tables and black leather club chairs. The bar was about half full, fairly standard for a Thursday night. It had been busy earlier, but now that it was after eleven, the crowd had thinned a little.

As he arrived at the bar, the musician nodded at him and ordered a beer from the bartender. He was wearing a button down dark blue shirt and mid-range jeans. Were those Levis? No one wore Levis in New York. He watched him take a long pull from the beer bottle, noticing how his lips wrapped around the mouth of the bottle. Berating himself, he turned away. The last thing he needed was to try to drown his sorrows by seducing a random guy for a one night stand. It would only add to his misery.

The drinks weren’t really working. He could still remember why he’d come to the bar. Liam had said that he was clingy and needy and he wasn’t worth it, even if he did have lots of money. And Liam had said he was a lot, he was too much and he’d called him a slut, even as he’d fucked him one last time before he walked out the door.

After Liam had left, he’d curled himself into a ball and cried and then he’d finished a pint of ice cream and cleaned himself up and come to the bar. Liam had drunk the last of his booze the night before and he needed something to dull the pain. He’d been hoping that Brad, the other bartender, would be on duty since he ran a side-hustle dealing E and Molly under the bar. But he knew that Dean didn’t do that, so he just nodded at him to keep the shots coming.

“Do you want to talk about it?” The piano player was looking over at him.

“No, I don’t want to talk about it.” The last thing he wanted was to share anything with a guy he didn’t even know.

“It’s just that you’re one...two...six shots in and you still look pretty tense.”

He wanted to snarl at him to mind his own business, but he couldn’t remember the last time someone had only been interested in conversation. It could be an ruse, of course, but the musician seemed pretty straightforward, not flirty or fawning. 

“Look, we’re never going to see each other again, you don’t even have to tell me your name if you don’t want to.”

The idea that the person in front of him didn’t know who he was was the most refreshing thing he’d heard in awhile. He looked at the man next to him more carefully. It was clear that he wasn’t from New York. Nothing about him said big city and yet for some reason, here he was, playing in an upscale piano bar.

Usually when people didn’t want to know his name, it was so they could leave him in the morning, not so they could have a conversation. He looked at the piano player suspiciously, but he was simply looking at him with a patient look on his face.

“No names,” he agreed. Curiosity got the better of him. “I’ll tell you my story if you tell me yours.” 

“Mmm.” A look of distaste flickered across the other man’s face before a look of amusement crept into his eyes. “Fake names are always an option. I can see you as a Jeff or maybe a Jimmy.”

“Okay. We’re not doing fake names.” Maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all. “And I am definitely not a Jeff.”

“Is your name actually Jimmy then?”

He narrowed his eyes at him. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was enjoying the banter. Most people were too worried about risking their source of free money to stand up to him. “You think you’re funny.”

The other man gave him a small shrug and took another drink of his beer. Once again, he could imagine his lips doing other things. He turned away, Dean had brought him another drink while they’d been talking. He downed the shot, placing the glass in a neat row with the others. The pain was starting to recede a bit, or maybe it was just that having a distraction helped.

“So, what is your story, then? No offense, but this crowd doesn’t seem that into you.” He gestured at the few people who were lingering at their tables. 

The musician looked away, he was using his thumbnail to lift the corner of the label on his beer bottle. 

“Classic story, I suppose. One last try at making it in the big city before I admit defeat and head home to put my business degree to use.”

“Heading home to a pretty girl and white picket fence?”

The look of distaste he’d glimpsed earlier returned, more pronounced this time. “I guess.”

“She sounds like a lucky girl,” he said sarcastically, “Given how enthusiastically you talk about her.” A small stab of disappointment pierced him at the confirmation that the piano player was straight.

The other man looked a little shocked for a moment, and then he shrugged ruefully. “We’ve been together since high school. Do...do you ever feel like your life has been scripted by someone else?”

“No.” He could honestly say that he’d never felt that. If anything, he felt the opposite, that his life was completely out of anyone’s control, careening from one bad encounter to the next. He wished there was someone out there in control of his life, pressing the brakes when he needed them to.

“You’re lucky, then.” He’d peeled half of the beer label from the bottle. The ragged edge made him twitchy, but he couldn’t stop watching the strong fingers working the edge of the paper. 

“Okay. Well, you wouldn’t say that if you knew me.” The drinks were definitely having an effect now and his usual caution faded away. “I came down here because the guy I’d been sleeping with for the past week said I wasn’t worth it. After he drank all my booze. He couldn’t even leave me the option of drinking by myself.”

“I’m sorry. You don’t deserve that.” The warm brown eyes were looking at him softly. He looked away, overwhelmed by an emotion he couldn’t name. “But I’m glad he drank all your booze.” 

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow at him.

“Otherwise we wouldn’t have met. I can honestly say that this conversation has been the best part of my day.”

“Maybe your day is worse than mine, if this is the best part,” he teased, glad to ease the seriousness of the conversation.

“Is this a competition, then?”

“Trust me, you don’t want to get into this competition with me. I wish I could say what happened to me today was an exception, but it’s pretty much par for the course.”

“Hmm.” The musician was quiet for a long moment and he worried that he had revealed too much. He picked up the full shot glass from the bar and emptied it, placing the glass with the others.

He was surprised to find that he was also enjoying their conversation. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d talked with someone without the subtext of planning to get them in bed or of them wanting access to his money.

“Are you back here tomorrow night, then?” He wasn’t sure why he was asking. 

“No, my contract is up. And given the response to my playing, I doubt they’ll want to renew it. I have a try-out with a bar band tomorrow and if that doesn’t pan out...who knows.” He set his empty beer bottle on the bar. “I should head home,” he finished, reluctantly.

“Yeah.” The bar was nearly empty now. He didn’t want the night or the conversation to end. “Thanks for distracting me tonight.”

“Any time. You okay to get home?”

“Sure.” He slid off the bar stool and was surprised when the floor seemed farther away than he’d thought. He stumbled, bumping into the stool. Without thinking, he reached out to steady himself on the other man’s shoulder.

“You’re not okay. I’ll walk you home. You live here in the building, right?”

His mind went blank. Was he being propositioned after all? He looked over at the musician, but all he could read in his face was concern. “I live in the penthouse.”

The other man raised an eyebrow at him at this statement, but he gripped him by the shoulder and steered him towards the elevator without comment. 

It took him three tries to use his keycard in the elevator but the doors finally opened to reveal the inside of his apartment. He was well and truly drunk, Liam was long forgotten and all he wanted was to sleep off the drinks and the last of his emotional hangover from the day. He headed for the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed. The room was spinning. 

The musician had come up behind him, he was carrying a glass of water that he set on the nightstand.

“You should drink this.”

He felt the other man help him take off his black leather jacket and saw him drape it carefully over the chair in the corner. He bent down to unlace his shoes for him. As he knelt before him he badly wanted to make a suggestive comment but he was too far gone to form the words.

The musician tucked him into bed and gave him a soft smile as he stopped in the doorway.

“It was nice to meet you. Sweet dreams.” He turned out the light and left the apartment.

Sweet dreams? Who said sweet dreams? He drifted to sleep, a smile on his lips.

 

**Patrick**

He took his seat and put his headphones in. The last thing he wanted was to have to make meaningless small talk for the next twelve hours on the train to Toronto. 

He didn’t want to be here, heading home, back to a life that increasingly felt like it didn’t fit. He wanted to be back in New York, or anywhere else, really. Last week’s audition had not gone well. The band, which specialized in some sort of bluegrass-pop fusion, didn’t know how to integrate a piano into their songs and he’d known even before he’d played his first note that it wasn’t going to work out.

So here he was. 

“Is this seat taken?”

He looked up. It was the guy from the bar from the week before, he was pointing to the seat across from him. He pulled out his headphones. 

“Be my guest.”

He was just as good looking as he’d remembered. He felt a small shiver in his stomach and pushed it away. Once again, he was dressed in black and white, a geometrically patterned sweater was paired with the pant-skirt combo he remembered from their first meeting.

“What?” He’d obviously been staring longer than he should have. He could tell the other man didn’t remember their previous meeting, likely due to the large amount of alcohol he’d consumed at the time.

“Nothing. I’m Patrick” He held out his hand.

“David.” The other man gripped his hand briefly.

“Not Jimmy?”

“What?!”

He definitely didn’t remember. “Nothing, sorry, it was a joke.” He thought about some of the things David had told him when they’d first met. He’d probably be embarrassed to know that he knew some of those details about him, particularly when he couldn’t remember sharing them.

“Okay.” 

An awkward silence fell between them. He stared out the window. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see David fidgeting with the silver rings on his right hand. 

“Are you on...vacation?” He asked, trying to break the silence. Given what he’d seen of David at the bar in New York and of his apartment, he couldn’t imagine someone like David taking a vacation that wasn’t to somewhere like the Carribean or the coast of France, but maybe the question would break the ice.

“No. no. My parents live in Toronto and my sister, sometimes. If I don’t visit once and awhile, they threaten to cut me off.”

“Hmm. Sounds like you’re really close,” he said jokingly.

“Um...no, not really.” David appeared to be serious. “What about you, what are you doing here?”

“Trying to avoid the inevitable for as long as possible, I guess.” He’d finally had to admit that whatever his future held, it probably wasn’t going to be in New York. He hated the thought of returning to Toronto and the train seemed like a good way to stretch things out. “One last shot at making my childhood dream a reality, but looks like it’s time to let that go.”

“Okay, um...well, I feel like this discussion is starting to get very dark.” David gave him a twisted grin, but he could see that he was uncomfortable with the direction of their conversation.

David was right, he thought. A drunken evening that only one of them remembered wasn’t a good basis for such an intense talk.

“You have a sister?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Mmm. Alexis. She’s five years younger. I think she’s in Saudi Arabia or South Africa. Not sure. I get them mixed up and she moves around a lot.” David talked with his hands and the flash of the silver rings as he waved his hands through the air was almost hypnotic. 

“I can’t imagine not knowing where my family was.” He also couldn’t imagine confusing Saudi Arabia and South Africa, but he decided not to point that out.

“Well, last time we talked, she was in Uganda. Or maybe it was Uruguay? Anyway, I had to send her passport and some money to the embassy so that the drug lords would let her go.”

“What?!”

“I worry about her sometimes.” 

He felt like this conversation had taken an even darker turn than his confession about his failed music career, but David was talking about his sister’s exploits as though they happened to everyone.

“You know where your parents are, I hope?” He’d said it as a joke and then immediately wondered if it might not have been a good idea.

“Yup. My dad is probably running his video store empire and my mom is probably drugged to the gills, reliving her days as a soap star.”

“Um…” He felt increasingly out of depth with this conversation. “Wait. Are you David Rose? Does your family own Rose Video?”

He’d worked at a Rose Video all through high school. The exploits of the Rose family had made for regular fodder for the employee gossip mill. Now that he thought about it, he could remember David’s face from the photo in the staff newsletter and the annual Christmas card.

“That’s me. In the flesh. Well, not the flesh as such, that would be awkward and weird.”

“Uh huh.” The whole conversation seemed plenty awkward and weird to him already, even without the random sexual innuendo that David had just added. David seemed to realize the implications of what he had just said, he blushed a little and looked away. 

“Um...so I’m guessing none of your relatives have been in a Ugandan prison lately?”

“No, no,” he grinned back at David. “My trip to New York is probably the most excitement my family has seen in years.”

“And now that adventure is over?”

“Yeah.” He stared out the window for a minute, watching the fields and trees speed by. “Another dream ends in New York City. But really, it wasn’t the music so much as it was the chance to get out.”

Almost unconsciously, David reached across the gap between their two seats and squeezed his knee in sympathy. 

“Yeah, I’m pretty familiar with the desire to escape from one’s family.” David’s hand was still on his knee. He thought he should say something about it, but he didn’t want to.

“So, I’m going to guess that you’re not spending your time running the US branch of Rose Video?”

“Ha. No, definitely not.” David grimaced and rolled his eyes. “I have an art gallery in Manhattan.”

“Filled with paintings of landscapes and flowers? Or maybe cat sculptures?” He assumed that whatever David’s gallery sold, it was probably over-the-top and outlandish.

David made a face at him. “We just had an exhibition from Julia Dault. She works in dirty minimalism, which….” David trailed off. “You probably don’t care about this.”

He didn’t, although he thought that he’d be happy to listen to David talk about whatever he wanted to. David had finally taken his hand off of his knee. He missed the warm pressure of it.

The sun was setting, casting a long shadow of the train that danced in parallel to the track, jumping over the trees and rocks as they passed through northern New York State. It felt like more than just the day was ending. The mood between them shifted, becoming more intimate, more sombre. 

He could tell that David felt it as well. He reached over to place Patrick’s bag on the seat he’d been sitting in and moved so that they were sitting side by side. 

“Show me one of your videos,” David said, pointing to his phone.

“Sorry?”

“You must have a video of you playing. I’d like to see it.”

“I don’t know…”

“C’mon, you’ve played to rooms full of people, right?”

“I don’t know about full of people,” he replied, thinking about some of the nearly empty rooms he’d performed in. He didn’t know why he was worried about showing David a video. David was right, he played in public all the time, that was the name of the game. But somehow, sharing it with him seemed much more personal than performing live. What if David thought he was terrible, he thought, not sure why the opinion of a relative stranger would matter so much.

David’s shoulder nudged his gently.

“Okay.” He pulled up the first video on his phone. Ironically, it was one of his performances from the bar where he’d first talked with David. He pressed play and handed his phone to David.

“That’s the bar in my building!” David exclaimed before watching the video intently. David handed the phone back to him when the video finished. 

“Okay, I thought you looked familiar when I sat down, I must have seen you there.” David’s eyes narrowed. “Wait. You were that guy at the bar, the one who walked me back to my apartment. Oh my god.” David’s cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, he crossed his arms and looked away.

“David, it’s okay. I played piano in a bar. I’ve seen a lot of drunk people. That’s kind of what bars are for.”

“I didn’t...do anything...” David cleared his throat and looked away.

“Inappropriate?” he suggested. “Well, you did try to get me to do a karaoke duet to Nickleback, even though it wasn’t a karaoke bar...” He laughed at the look of horror on David’s face. “I’m joking, you were fine.” 

“Obviously, since I only do karaoke to Mariah Carey.” David smirked back at him.

Hoping to redirect the conversation, he pointed at his phone. “Mmm. So, what do you think of the video?” He was nervous to hear David’s answer.

“Hmm, you’re pretty good in an honest sort of way. I can see why it didn’t work out for you in New York, though. New Yorkers like a little more shine in their music.” 

That was fair, he thought. He’d always struggled to match his music with the expectations of the audience in the city. 

A silence stretched between them, this time it was warm and comfortable. It was dark outside now and the train had dimmed the lights. He laid his head back against the seat and watched the lights of the cities and towns in the distance flicker through the trees. Despite his apprehension about heading back to Toronto, being with David was soothing. He closed his eyes.

He woke up to find his head resting comfortably on the black and white clad shoulder next to him. A wave of embarrassment washed through him. He sat up abruptly. “God, I’m so sorry.”

David was smiling at him. For the first time since he’d met him, his usual sardonic look was replaced by something gentler. “Don’t be. It’s by far the nicest thing someone’s done to me without my consent.”

He tried not to think about the implications of that statement. 

“Where are we?” He could see the lights of the city out of the window of the train.

“About half an hour from Union Station, I think,” David replied.

His stomach clenched. The apprehension that had dogged him for the entire trip had returned, but now it was mixed with regret that his time with David was coming to an end.

“What’s your first stop?” he asked David, wanting to extend the moment for as long as possible.

“Oh, I’ll probably hit a club before I head to my parent’s place. They aren’t expecting me until tomorrow.”

He looked at his phone, it was nearly one in the morning. It was a stark reminder of how different their worlds were.

“You?”

“My dad’s picking me up at the station, so…” he trailed off, uncertain how David would see him and his family.

“That’s nice,” David said softly. “If I’d told them, my dad might have remembered to send a car.”

The train was pulling into Union Station now, slowing as it passed the empty tracks and train cars. 

“I…” he didn’t know what he wanted to say. He reached for his bag on the opposite seat. “Thank you for spending the trip with me.”

David flashed him a genuine smile. “You’re welcome. I hope you find a way to live the life you want.” David squeezed his shoulder, grabbed his bag and disappeared into the crowd. He stared after him, wishing he could follow.

With a sigh, he picked up his bag and headed towards the exit where he’d agreed to meet his dad.


	2. Chapter 2

**David**

He’d come to the park to escape the echoing hallways of his parent’s enormous house. Not that he wanted to talk to anyone at the park, but at least he didn’t feel like he was being ignored or left out of things when he was sitting on this park bench. He pulled his journal out of his jacket pocket, trying to decide if he wanted to sketch the reflecting pool in front of him when he heard a voice called his name.

“David Rose?”

He looked up, scanning the crowd to find the person who was calling his name. On the other side of the pool he saw the man he’d shared the train ride with a couple of months ago. A smile stretched across his face and he raised his hand in a half wave. He felt a burst of warmth inside, he’d thought about Patrick quite a bit since their trip from New York.

Patrick was trying to make his way to where he was sitting, but the nearest way across the pool was some distance away, so he had to go down and then back around. Now that he’d finally made it to this side of the water he was dodging around a herd of shrieking children who were stampeding towards him. David was so happy to see him that he didn’t even mind that people had brought children to what was clearly designed as a space for adults.

“Hey,” he said as Patrick came up to him.

“Hi.” They were both awkward for a moment. He stood up from the bench and opened his arms for a hug. It felt better than it should have to embrace a man who he’d spent such a short time with. He stepped back reluctantly and Patrick chuckled sheepishly.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” Patrick said.

“Given that you only know me from a train, you might be surprised to see me anywhere in this city.”

“It just doesn’t seem like your kind of place.”

“Okay, well, it’s peaceful here. Or it would be if there weren’t so many people.”

“Yeah, there’s a children’s festival going on next door, so...like I said, I’m surprised to see you here.”

“You don’t know, I might like children,” he replied, a bit perturbed that Patrick thought he knew him well enough to assume things.

“Do you?”

“No,” he admitted with a laugh.

“Are you waiting for someone?” Patrick asked, hopefully. 

“No, nope. It’s my last day in Toronto, actually, and my parents have other plans so I came here to get out of the house.”

“You’re going back to New York tomorrow and your family isn’t going to spend your last night in the city with you?” Patrick couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice.

He shrugged and looked away, not wanting to talk about his dysfunctional family.

“Come on,” Patrick said, gesturing that he should get his things.

“Where are we going?” He was amused by Patrick’s take charge manner. 

“We’re going to start with coffee, my favorite coffee shop isn’t far from here. After that, we’ll see. I’ve got some ideas.”

“Do you?” Normally, he might have put up a fuss if someone tried to direct him in this way, but he was curious about what Patrick had in mind and he wanted to spend more time with him so he didn’t really care where they went.

He let Patrick lead him to a coffee shop a few blocks away. It wasn’t somewhere he would have gone on his own as his tastes ran more to clean lines and black and white decor. The interior of the coffee shop was industrial brick and exposed pipes and it was furnished with overstuffed armchairs and couches. He rattled off his complicated coffee order when Patrick asked him, pleased when he saw that Patrick had added a couple of cookies to the purchase.

Patrick headed for an area at the back of the coffee shop. It was slow right now and they had the spot to themselves. Patrick tucked himself into one corner of the velveteen-upholstered sofa. He looked at the couch with distaste.

“C’mon David, it won’t bite.”

“Who knows what people have done on this couch?” he replied, sitting gingerly on the edge. Patrick was laughing at him. He glared at him in return. “Why did I think this was going to fun?”

“So you can’t handle a taste of the real side of Toronto then?” Patrick was teasing him. 

“I’ve probably seen more of this city than you have.”

“Okay, let’s find out,” Patrick said with a smirk.

“What does that mean?” He took a bite of his cookie, it was soft and warm and perfect.

“We’ve got all night. I’ll show you my favorite places in the city and you can show me yours.” 

He narrowed his eyes at Patrick, considering. He thought about some of the places that he’d never shared with anyone. Patrick would probably appreciate them, he thought. 

“Okay, but I get a veto.”

“A veto?”

“If we go somewhere I don’t like it, we get to leave. Or if you don’t like somewhere that I pick.” He added the last part so that Patrick wouldn’t think he was entirely selfish.

“Okay. Where are we going first?”

 

**Patrick**

His heart had skipped a beat when he’d seen David sitting in the park. He thought about David and their time on the train together all the time, never believing that he would ever see him again.

He didn’t have a plan when he convinced David to go to the coffee shop with him, but he knew that if didn’t take the opportunity he would regret it. Maybe for the rest of his life.

David insisted that it was too far to walk to their first destination so they grabbed an Uber to make their way through the city. When the car stopped next to an industrial looking overpass, he thought that David was having him on. Either that or he was planning to murder him and hide his body by the expressway.

David didn’t bat an eye, paying the fare and walking confidently towards the area beneath the elevated roadway. As they drew closer, he could see the brightly colored graffiti-style murals on the concrete columns. Even though it was early evening, the area was filled with people.

David stopped beneath one of the concrete spans. 

“Look,” he said, pointing upwards.

Above their heads was a honeycomb of mirrors. They caught and reflected the light, multiplying the murals and the movement of the visitors into a web of color and movement. Immediately the space seemed bigger and brighter than before. He laughed with delight, staring upwards until he felt dizzy and David guided him to a bench in the middle of the park.

“It’s called Mirage,” David said.

“How did I not know this was here?”

David looked smug. “This part of Toronto looks pretty real to me.”

He gave David a small shove before he leaned back against David’s shoulder to look upwards at the mirrors again. He could see the two of them reflected back at him, and for a moment he was surprised by how happy he looked. 

 

**David**

Watching Patrick laugh with joy beneath one of his favorite art installations almost brought him to tears. He’d never brought anyone here before. Most of the people he spent time with either weren’t interested in this type of thing or he wasn’t interested in sharing it with them. When Patrick leaned back against him to look upwards it was all he could do to stop himself from wrapping his arms around him and kissing him. 

Patrick insisted on walking to their next location. He assumed from the direction they were traveling that Patrick was taking him to the Distillery District where many of the high-end shops he preferred were located. Patrick probably wasn’t going to take him shopping, so he was curious what he had in mind.

“Where are we going?”

“I thought maybe the gourmet beer store? Or the store than only sells socks?”

He made a face at Patrick. “You’re very annoying.”

Patrick shrugged and grinned at him before pulling them to a stop in front of an ice cream parlour. “How about now, am I still annoying?”

“Maybe slightly less annoying.”

He thought he should maybe be bothered by the fact that Patrick had figured out what he liked so quickly, but instead he just felt warm and happy that someone cared enough to pay attention to what he might like. No one had ever done that before.

He ordered mint chocolate chip, laughing a little as Patrick ordered plain chocolate.

“I like it,” Patrick said with a shrug.

Watching Patrick lick his ice cream cone was testing his control, so he suggested they walk through the District. They passed the sock store, Patrick once again teasing that they should go in and buy some new socks while he rolled his eyes in response.

When they finished their ice cream Patrick turned to him.

“Where now?”

 

**Patrick**

“Have you been here before?” David asked as they walked into the garden.

He shook his head. He knew about the Music Garden, of course. Built by Yo Yo Ma to celebrate music by Bach, each line and flower was a visual representation of his composition. 

The sun was close to setting and the soft light was casting long shadows everywhere. They walked in silence for awhile, he could feel the ebb and flow of the music as the garden paths curved and flowed around each other. Eventually, David began to talk.

“I used to come here all the time. When my sister dropped out of school to be a teen model she would hook up with all these different guys and get into trouble and she wouldn’t tell me until she needed bail money or whatever. So I’d come here. It’s peaceful, you know?”

After hearing about Alexis’s travels on the train, he felt a bit better equipped to deal with David’s stories this time around.

“It’s not easy to be the one left at home worrying about someone,” he replied.

David gave an ironic laugh. “I’m sorry, that was very dark, especially since we’ve basically just met. It’s just…”

“...it feels like we’ve known each other forever? Yeah, to me too.” He smiled at David, who was looking back at him fondly.

They made their way through the spiral portion of the garden and stopped to look out at the concert space.

“I’d like to come back when there’s music,” he said softly.

“Me too,” David replied.

It probably wouldn’t happen, he thought. At least not together. David was headed back to New York and he was committed to a job and a life here in Toronto.

“Come on,” he said, “The next place on my list is practically right across the street.”

 

**David**

For the first time since they’d begun exploring the city he felt a note of trepidation. Looking up at the CN Tower from the ground, it seemed even higher than he’d thought. He felt a knot forming in the pit of his stomach. He hated heights. But Patrick was clearly excited to be here and he didn’t want to disappoint him. 

It was perfectly safe, he told himself as the elevator began the seemingly endless journey to the top of the tower. Thousands of people came up here every day and no one had ever fallen off. It’s going to be fine, he repeated to himself, not realizing he was anxiously twisting the rings on his right hand.

“Are you okay?” Patrick asked. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

“Mmm hmm.” All he could feel was the tension increasing throughout his body.

“David?”

“I...I don’t like heights much,” he admitted.

Patrick looked concerned. “You should have said something.”

“Well, I’m saying something now,” he snapped, the anticipation of arriving at the top of the tower getting the better of him. Patrick looked taken aback and he remembered that they didn’t really know each other very well. This was generally the point when things started to fall apart. When the person he was with realized how messed up he was and how much work it would take to manage all those parts of him that needed managing. He crossed his arms and looked away from Patrick, watching the numbers on the elevator get higher and higher.

They got out of the elevator. Instead of heading for the observation deck, Patrick pushed the button to take them back to the ground.

“What are you doing?” he demanded. His hands were clenched into fists and he couldn’t seem to relax them.

“I’m not going to make you do something you don’t want to do,” Patrick said. “It’s not fun for me if this is stressing you out.”

He couldn’t remember if anyone had ever said something like that to him before. For most people, making him do something he didn’t want to do was a feature, their enjoyment heightened by his distress.

He was quiet for the ride back down to the ground. Whatever this thing was with Patrick, it was obviously better than he deserved. He was gripped by a sudden need to show Patrick who he really was, to make Patrick see that he shouldn’t care about how he felt.

 

**Patrick**

The relaxed feeling between them had evaporated during the ride to the top of the Tower. He glanced at David, but he was turned away, he arms crossed tightly across his chest.

They made it back to the ground level. He had hoped that David’s tension would dissipate, but he seemed just as wound up as before, his face a tight mask.

“C’mon,” David said shortly, heading into the heart of the city.

He let David lead them to the door of the nightclub. 

“I don’t think I’m dressed for this,” he said, suddenly nervous about what David was about to get them into. A stream of well-dressed partiers was flowing into the club.

“You’ll be fine if you’re with me,” David replied, grabbing his hand and joining the crowd. A dark haired woman and her friend greeted David.

“Hey gorgeous, love that look on you.” The woman ran her finger along David’s jawline. “You always look so good,” she purred.

David gave a fake sounding laugh that he’d never heard before. He watched David preen under the attention, fawning for more compliments. He felt ill, unsure if it was the press of people, the woman who was pawing at David or the sudden change in David’s personality.

At the door, the bouncer nodded at David familiarly and didn’t give Patrick a second glance. Inside, the decor was black and gold, somehow it was both dark inside and too brightly lit, the lights from the dance floor reflecting from the gold accents. It was loud and crowded. He’d never wanted to leave anywhere as badly as he did this place.

He was glad that David kept a firm grip on his hand. If they got separated in the crush of people, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to find him again.

David was headed to the bar. They had made it about half way across the room when a tall, blond man stopped in front of David. Without saying anything, he pressed his body against David’s and put his hand at the back of David’s neck and kissed him thoroughly. A jolt of jealousy swept through Patrick. The noise and the music and the lights were suddenly too much. He tried to drop David’s hand, searching for the exit. David refused to let him go and was looking at him questioningly with an eyebrow raised.

He leaned towards him and shouted in his ear. “I need to leave.” David looked at him carefully and nodded, reversing course to take them back out the way they’d come in.

On the street, he let go of David’s hand and leaned up against the side of the building, closing his eyes. He hadn’t liked this look into David’s life, surrounded by the people and the booze and probably other things he was too naive to notice. 

He opened his eyes. David was pacing on the sidewalk in front of him, arms crossed, face drawn. He took a deep breath.

“Okay,” he said. “Okay.” 

 

**David**

Patrick was clearly shaken by their brief stop at the club. Which was what he had intended to do. But not what he wanted to do, he now realized. He wanted to go back to the moments they’d had earlier in the evening when it was easy and he hadn’t had to think about it.

He was surprised when Patrick suggested getting something to eat instead of calling it a night. He had assumed his attempt to drive Patrick away would have been successful, that a glimpse into who he really was would be enough to force this to its natural conclusion. But he could see the determination in Patrick’s eyes. He had clearly had a plan for this evening and he was going to see it through, despite his own efforts to sabotage things.

The hotdog place had more types of hotdogs than he’d ever seen before. It was miles away from any place that he would have gone to on his own. It was also exactly what he wanted. Somehow, Patrick had once again known what he needed in the moment.

The tension between them had lifted a bit, but the earlier awkwardness remained. 

“Um...maybe we should just wrap things up,” he suggested in a hushed voice, hoping Patrick wouldn’t agree.

“Is that what you want?”

He looked away. He hated it when people asked him what he wanted instead of just making him go along with what they thought was best. 

“No,” he said quietly. “This is the best night I’ve had in a long time, despite...um...things…”

“Things?” Patrick asked with a smirk, “Like just random stuff out in the universe?”

He glared at Patrick. “That’s right.”

“You should be careful. You don’t want to trip over things and fall.” Patrick’s words suddenly took on an extra subtext that he wasn’t expecting. 

“Okay,” he said, breaking the mood. “We’ve still got more places to see, it’s not morning yet.”

 

**Patrick**

They began to walk back towards the waterfront. It was well past midnight now, the streets were still, even though there were people around. 

David guided them to a small park that jutted out into the lake. A sandy beach, backed by a concrete promenade was surrounded by water on two sides. They made their way slowly down to where the walkway met the water, looking out at the lights of the city reflected on the lake. In the distance, he could just hear music playing from one of the all-night patios further down the shore. 

He wanted this moment to last forever, to never have to think about the new job he’d taken that he already hated or his latest break-up with Rachel or the expectations of his family. David must have sensed what he was feeling, he reached out and placed an arm around his shoulders. Without thinking, he moved closer, tucking himself into the warmth of David’s side. Next to him, he felt David take a sharp breath. 

David slid his arm down to rest at his waist and with his free hand, reached for Patrick’s. 

“Dance with me,” David whispered in his ear. It felt completely natural to rest his free hand at the back of David’s neck and let him lead them slowly along the walkway. There was no one else around and he closed his eyes and rested his head on David’s shoulder. 

He didn’t know how long they had been like that before he realized that David was no longer moving. They stood swaying together where the walkway met the sand of the artificial beach. He raised his head to see David looking at him tenderly. He smiled as David brought his hand up to cup his face, running his thumb gently along the top of his cheek, before bending his head to kiss him softly.

 

**David**

This was probably a bad idea, he thought as he bent to kiss Patrick. Patrick’s lips were soft and searching, they parted slightly with an invitation for him to deepen their kiss. 

He’d kissed a lot of people, some people he liked, some he hated, some he didn’t even know, like the guy at the club earlier that night. None of those kisses had been like this, filled with wanting and curiosity and warmth. He broke away, thinking suddenly that if he kissed Patrick for too long he might never want to kiss anyone else ever again, that this simple moment might ruin him for anything else. 

Patrick’s eyes were wide, but instead of saying anything, he lead them over to where a group of rocks stuck out from the sand. He sat on the edge, tugging at David’s hand to urge him to sit beside him.

“Sitting on the ground won’t kill you,” he said, sensing David’s reluctance. 

“There’s a perfectly good table, just over there,” he replied, gesturing at the beach tables that were scattered throughout the beach. 

“This will be nicer, trust me.”

With a sigh that was as much put-on as it was sincere, he sat next to Patrick and wrapped his arms around him, resting his chin on his shoulder. The sun was starting to rise, turning the water to a mosaic of oranges and pinks.

“If this were a movie, we’d make a pact to meet back here in a year,” he murmured in Patrick’s ear. Patrick laughed, but he could hear a bitter note underneath it.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that my life is definitely not a movie.”

The regret he could hear in Patrick’s voice made his stomach clench. “I never asked,” he said softly, “Um...how is...everything?”

“I broke up with Rachel,” Patrick replied, “I couldn’t stay with her when I was thinking about you all the time.” The funny feeling in his stomach grew stronger.

“Oh,” he said, glad Patrick had told him but wishing that he hadn’t asked. He pulled Patrick towards him, kissing the back of his neck tenderly, sighing happily when Patrick leaned his head back to rest against his shoulder.

They watched until the sun had fully risen, the oranges and pinks giving way to the sharper yellow of the morning. 

“I have to go,” he said softly. “My flight’s at nine.” He didn’t want to leave, he wanted to spend the rest of his life here on this beach with his arms around Patrick. He hugged Patrick close one last time and leaned over to kiss him gently on the lips. He turned and walked away, not wanting to look back in case Patrick might see the tears on his cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full disclosure, I don’t really know Toronto very well. With Google’s help, here are the places I had David and Patrick visit: Sherbourne Common, Mirage at Underpass Park, the Distillery District, the Music Garden, CN Tower, Cube night club, Fancy Franks and Sugar Beach Park.
> 
> Also, if you haven’t seen Noah’s short indie film that’s an homage to Before Sunrise, it’s very sweet. https://www.traileraddict.com/lay-over/short-film


	3. Chapter 3

**Patrick**

It was stupid, he thought as he set his alarm. They hadn’t agreed and even if they had, it was still stupid to think that David might be waiting for him the next morning.

He waited on the beach until almost noon, first watching the sky change color and then seeing the ebb and flow as the park filled with people. It was likely for the best, he told himself. Trying to recapture what they’d had a year ago was probably impossible. It was best to just hold onto his memories and move on.

He thought about how it had felt to have David’s arms around him as they’d sat on the beach, the murmur of his voice in his ear, the feel of his lips when they’d kissed. With a sigh, he climbed off the rocks and headed away from the waterfront.

He’d started playing the piano again. After he’d left New York, even looking at the piano felt like failure and he hated his current life enough already that he didn’t need the extra layer of defeat. But over the past couple of months he’d played a few shows with friends in some of the small, local venues. It was easier here than it had been in New York, the audiences were more forgiving, the music scene was smaller. 

Playing reminded him of David too, making him think of the time they’d first met in New York, of David’s insistence on watching the video of him playing when they were on the train. The memories made him smile, he missed David’s ridiculousness, his ability to make everything seem bigger than it was.

He had agreed to go to party that night with his friend Kyle, a bass player he performed with from time to time. Kyle thought that there’d be other music people there and maybe an opportunity to connect with some of the local producers. Truthfully, he was mostly going to get out of the house, afraid he was destined to be stuck in his current routine forever. 

The party was in the penthouse of one of the buildings downtown. He moved through the crowd in Kyle’s wake, chatting to the various people he knew from concerts and music studios around the city. After a while, he couldn’t take it anymore, so he headed out to one of the balconies that ran the length of the building.

He leaned against the railing, looking out to Lake Ontario, the lights of the city dancing over the water. He closed his eyes, enjoying the time away from the people inside, listening to the noise from the city traffic stories below, when he heard raised voices from around the corner. 

“I can’t believe you were stupid enough to think that I was in this for any other reason.” The voice was vicious, cutting. 

The reply was quiet, muffled and he couldn’t make out the words, but the response came quickly. 

“It’s a good thing you’re such a hot fuck, because you’re much too needy for anyone to want you for anything else.”

He could hear footsteps approaching and he pressed himself into the shadows, not wanting to interfere in someone else’s problems. His mouth dropped open as David stumbled past him, his face ashen and his eyes reddened. He almost said something as David moved past without noticing him, but he thought the better of it. David wouldn’t want him to see him like this, wouldn’t want to know that he’d been overheard.

Moments later, a scruffy looking man with a self-satisfied smirk came around the corner from the same direction. This time he moved out of the shadows to put himself into the other man’s path.

“What?” The man demanded.

He desperately wanted to hit him. He hadn’t hit anyone since second grade when Tommy Keller had teased him for being friends with Elizabeth Johnston, who lived next door to him and who was the best baseball player in their class. For a second, he saw a flash of fear in the other man’s eyes. He reached out a hand and saw the fear crystalize. Cupping the back of the other man’s neck, he pulled him close and hissed in his ear, “You don’t deserve him, he’s too good for you.”

He released him with a small shove, causing him to stumble. He headed back to the party, searching the crowd for David, but there was no sign of him.

 

**David**

He hadn’t wanted to come to this game. He hated team sports and baseball in particular, the way it dragged on for no reason. He hated the spectators who were loud and wound up, yelling about things he didn’t understand, and he hated that balls could fly through the air towards his head. The players were cute in their tight uniforms, but they were too far away to appreciate properly.

He wouldn’t have come at all if it wasn’t for the new artist he wanted to sign for his gallery. His art was hot right now and it was intended to show baseball as a metaphor for cultural inclusion. But the artist was clearly a no-show. It was the third quarter and there was no sign of him.

A group of fans at the front of his section caught his eye. There were half a dozen of them, men and women, laughing and having a good time. One of the women had stolen a baseball cap from the man beside her and was wearing it backwards, protesting and laughing as he tried to retrieve it. For a moment, he didn’t know why they had caught his eye. The stands weren’t full and similar groups dotted the bleachers. Then the man who’d lost his hat turned in his seat and his breath caught in his throat. Patrick.

For the first few months after the night they’d spent together, he’d thought about Patrick constantly. He remembered how Patrick teased him, making him laugh, how he’d felt in his arms as they danced together, the once in a lifetime feeling when they’d kissed. But then he’d been seduced by Sebastian’s smooth talking. After that toxic experience was over and Sebastian had done his best to cut him to pieces, he’d convinced himself that Patrick was simply another example of his ongoing bad luck and bad timing.

Even if there had been something there, it would never have lasted. These things never did. Perhaps it was better to just have the memories to hold on to, for once they were happy ones, untainted by the toxicity of his other relationships.

He’d planned to leave the stadium once it was clear that his artist wasn’t going to show, but he stayed in his seat, riveted as he watched Patrick and his friends. He wasn’t sure about the dynamics among the group in front of him. Patrick and the other two men were only friends, he was sure, nothing in their body language indicated otherwise. But he was unsure about the girl who had stolen Patrick’s hat. She was definitely flirting with Patrick, making him laugh, but he couldn’t tell if it went further than that. 

He wanted to be the one sitting with Patrick, teasing him until he laughed. He wanted to lean into his shoulder and put his hand on his leg. He wanted to have Patrick explain the rules to him, even though he wouldn’t remember. 

He’d seen enough. He got up and left the stadium, vowing to leave thoughts of Patrick behind as well.

 

**Patrick**

He was elated and terrified and filled with apprehension. He’d packed his car last night, told his parents he was leaving and headed east from Toronto, heading for an unknown job in a strange town. The job advertisement had been unique to say the least. 

_Assistant Wanted for rapidly growing real estate, photography, closet organization and travel business. Other business opportunities may occur. Flexibility and patience are assets. To apply, email Ray._

Given the location of the job and the outlandish advertisement, he suspected that he had probably been the only applicant. Still, any opportunity to escape was worth taking. As he came into town that evening, he spotted a bar on his left. Suddenly, he was starving and exhausted. He pulled into the parking lot, wanting to stop and get his bearings before meeting Ray in person for the first time.

He was finishing his burger when he heard a voice beside him.

“Aren’t you the cutest thing. You must be new in town.”

He turned to see a tall blond woman in a short, gold-colored dress standing at the bar beside him. Given the other clientele, she seemed overdressed for the occasion, she wouldn’t have looked out of place at a big city party. 

“I’m Alexis. Alexis Rose.” She pointed to the ‘A’ shaped necklace around her neck and reached out a hand for him to take. He smiled, amused by her aggressive flirting.

“Patrick. And I just moved here.”

Alexis Rose. Her name sounded very familiar. The last name Rose made him think of David. Was Alexis the name of the sister that he had mentioned all those years ago?

“Do you live here?” he asked, curious about her for the first time.

“Yes, I’m just here with my friend Twyla,” she gestured towards a darker haired woman who was sitting at a table in the corner. “You could join us if you like.”

“Thanks, but I need to head out soon.” He assumed that meeting Alexis was simple happenstance. Based on David’s stories, she seemed like someone who could pop up in any location at any time, probably while being chased by pirates or gangsters. It was unlikely that he’d find David anywhere in the vicinity of his sister.

Still, as he left the bar, he looked behind him towards where Alexis was sitting, just to be sure that she hadn’t been joined by someone in a black and white sweater.

 

**David**

He was in bed, scrolling through his phone when Alexis returned from her night out with Twyla. They had invited him to come, but he hadn’t been in the mood to engage with the locals.

“How was Schitt’s Creek’s finest establishment?” he asked.

“It’s Schitt’s Creek’s only establishment, David.”

“And? Did you meet the love of your life?” Alexis rolled her eyes at him.

“Ew, David. There was a guy there who’d just moved to town, but he didn’t even ask for my number. He said his name was Patrick. Maybe someone in town knows him.”

It wasn’t exactly an uncommon name, but his heart skipped a little the way it always did when he heard it. Thinking about Patrick was like wrapping himself in a warm blanket. Other than a few lingering regrets that he’d never seen him again since that day at the ballpark, all of his memories of Patrick were happy ones. 

“Okay. Well, let me know if you find him.”

It was beyond stupid to think that Patrick would be here, in this backwards town that he’d been exiled to. Just the same, he fell asleep that night imagining what might have happened if he had gone to the bar with Alexis.

 

**Patrick**

He heard Ray call his name. The client who needed help with his incorporation paperwork was probably here. He came into the main room to find David standing in front of him. Everything fell away as he took in the dark eyes and black and white clothes of the man in front of him. He couldn’t keep from smiling as he held out his hand. 

“Hi,” he said quietly, watching the answering smile spread across David’s face. 

“Hi,” David replied, his fingers gripped Patrick’s hand tightly. 

He glanced over to where Ray was taking engagement photos. Ray was occupied, but the young couple he was photographing kept glancing over at them. Keeping hold of David’s hand, he pulled him around the corner into the other room.

David’s eyes met his as he raised his free hand to the back of Patrick’s neck, pulling him close and kissing him. David’s lips were warm and firm and everything he’d been searching for the past four years. He smiled into their kiss, feeling like he had finally come home.

“David Rose,” he said softly, “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”


End file.
